P. M. BRIEFING : Argentina Asks Businesses for Loan

BUENOS AIRES — The Argentine government, almost broke, is asking local businesses for a $500-million loan.

The move underlines the dire condition of the economy in the prelude to a general election May 14. “The state is crying for help. Its foreign reserves are dwindling, and it can’t get foreign loans because of the government’s mismanagement of the economy,” said one businessman, who asked not to be named.

Argentine governments usually resort to foreign loans to cover their deficits. But the country’s access to fresh funds from abroad has been restricted since it stopped servicing its $60-billion debt in August, 1988.

President Raul Alfonsin’s Administration, beset by raging inflation, expects Argentina’s leading companies to subscribe to an issue of “solidarity finance bonds” to narrow its massive public sector deficit.